Wind-wheel



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. WIND WHEEL'. No. 361,875. Patented'ApI. 26, 1887.

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WIND WHEEL.

No. 361,875. Patented Apr. 26, 1887.

NA PETERS, pnumumogmpher. wnshiugm, n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IIIRAM Q. HOOD, OF WELLINGTON, KANSAS.

WIND-WHEEL..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,875, dated April 26, 1887.

' Application filed January 21, 1887. Serial No. 225,013. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: e

Be it known that I, HIRAM Q. HOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wellingt0n, in the county of Sumner and State of Kansas,v have invented certain new and usefulv Improvements lin Vind-Wheels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in wind-wheels; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of the parts thereof, which will be more fully hereinafter described, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention'is to provide a wind-wheel which will be automatic in its working, and at the same time to so construct the several parts as to form a simple, efficient, and powerful wheel with comparatively small expense. I obtain this object by the device illustrated in the 'accompanying drawings, wherein like letters of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, and in which- Figure l is an elevation of the wheel, showing the canopy aud front arms in section and. one of the vaues in position. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical l sectional view of the hollow shaft.

In the drawings, A represents the supporting-frame, made of a greater width at the bottom than at the top, and is capped by a plate, B, which is rigidlyv secured thereto, it being provided with a circular opening` in its central portion, through which a vertical hollow shaft, made of any suitable material, passes. This shaft C is journaled at its lower end in a bearing, c, which is made of conical shape, having an opening extending therethrough of different diameters, the upper being greater than the lower portion, thereby forming a shoulder, as at c', upon which the shaft C rests, which is in turn somewhat reduced in circumference, thereby forming a shoulder, asiat c2, which'comes in contact with the said shoulder' c on the bearing c.. l

c3 is a ring,of steel or other suitable material,

interposed between the shoulders c and c2 to prevent wear on the said shoulders. The bearing c is placed on and rigidly secured to crosspieces b b, which rest on and are secured to braces a a of the supporting-frame A. The hollow shaft 'O is extended down below the bearing c for some distance.

D indicates a collar surrounding the shaft C a short distance above the bearing c, it being rigidly secured thereto, and is provided with a bevelgear on its lower portion, which. meshes with a gear-wheel situated on the end ofa horizontal shaft, d, which is journaled in the bracepieces a a on t-he frame A. This shaft d has a pulley-wheel on its outer end,

ing and taking a portion of the weight off fromI the bearing c. This collar E may be placed somewhat above the plate B, if desired, and the whole weight thrown on the bearing c.

Secured to the collars E and E are a series of radial arms, e and e', having their ends mortised or otherwise secured in said collars. These arms e e are six iu number, but as many may be used as are desired. Braces e'z are placed on the inner ends of the lower arms, e, and extend upward and outward to the ends of the upper series of arms, e', where they are secured, thus forming a secure brace for the said upper arms. This upper series of arms, e', are also braced, and thereby prevented from spreading, by cross-pieces e.

F represents a series of uprights or supl ports placed at an incline, and secured 011 the upper sides of the upper series of arms, e', and the edge of the collar E', and are braced and held in position by a circular top, f, which also forms a top or shield for the central shaft. To these uprights is also attached a canopy, F', which extends out from the topf, and serves as a protector for the mechanism entire of the wheel. This canopy is supported by suitable ribs and braces attached to the said top portion and uprights.

Hinged to the sides of the outer ends of the The IOO

' having two outwardly-inclined sides and a bottom or back portion and open front, thus forming a'bucket or trough. These vanes are braced or banded and securely held together by metal strips h h, attached tov the top, bottom, and

' central portions thereof, and bolted or in any other manner secured thereto. The central strip is extended entirely around the same across the open face of the vane, and the ends are united and carried out somewhat, where a suitable loop, h', is attached, which aids in securing the ends of said central band together. Bythis construction it will be seen that it will bevlrnpossible in any way to spread the sides of the vanes apart.

Secured to the arms ec, on the sides of the vouter ends thereof, and on the opposite side to the one o'n which the vanes are secured, is a detlector, H, consisting of a strip of wood or other material of angular formation, with one side slightly curved, it being extended out for some distance and adapted to deflect the wind that would be driven through the frame-work of the wheel into the trough-shaped vanes, and also to prevent the wind from going into said vanes when they are drawn in, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Running up through the central cylinder or shaft, C, is a series of governor-rods, i, which extend up, and are connected to centrifugal governors I, and all secured to a circular block, i', at their lower ends. The governors I are constructed of a horizontal rod with a downwardly-extending portion, on which is loosely mounted an iron ball, K. These rods are pivotally secured near their inner ends to the up- Vrights F, and allowed a rocking motion, so that the weighted end may be thrown up or lowered, as may be desired. Attached to the governors I at or about their centers are conne ating-rods k, which are extended down and connected to the arms Z of cranks L, which cranks are journaled ina suitable box-bearing, Z2, on the lower arms, e, and running laterally thereon. This crank L is provided with a series of arms, Z and Z, bent at right angles to each other, so that when one of said arms assumes a vertical position the other is at a horizontal. To the lower lopposite crank-arm, Z', on the opposite side of the arm e, is secured a connecting rod or link,

' .,m, which is extended out and hooked or faste'ned to the loop h on the fan or vane H, so that when the weighted end of the governor is thrown up it draws the vane in, or when down 'throws it out.

In making my vanes or fans in the shape 'velocity of the wheel.

above described I obtain a much more powerful wheel. As will be readily seen, the wind is thrown into the bucket or trough, and is not allowed to be deected out therefrom, as is done in other wheels, but its force is all expended on the fan,thereby producing a greater When the fans or vanes are drawn in,'the wheel is cut off from the wind,

' and the arms may be extended so as to make a perfect inclosure of the vanes by having the outer edges of the same come in contact with the deflector, if'desired.`

It will thus be seen that the normal position of the vanesis as shown when they are thrown out, and if lthe wheels should be impelled too rapidlythe weighted end of the governor will immediately be thrown out and up by centrifugal force,- thereby drawing up the arm l of crank L to a vertical position and the arm l back to a horizontal position, which in turn draws the vane in, as above described.

When it is desired to lstop the wheel and lprevent it from working, thereby preventing wear, it is only necessary to draw down on the governor-rods t' i, and thereby force the weight- 'ed end of the-governor up and draw in the y vanes. This position may be retained by any suitable device secured to the lower ends of the rods t' i and then attached to the frame, or in any other suitable manner.

It is obvious that many minor changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my invention could be made and substituted for those shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

I am aware that wind-wheels have heretofore been constructed with centrifugal automatic cut-offs, and such construction I do not broadly claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a wind-wheel, the combination,with a central hollow shaft provided with suitable bearings and having radial arms extending out therefrom, of a series of trough-shaped vanes hinged to said arms and constructed of two oblique sides extending outward at an angle from a central vertical strip, and means, as

described, for re-enforcing the said vanes, as herein specified.

2. In a wind-wheel, the combination,with a hollowV4 shaft having a series of collars thereon, and arms secured to said collars, of a series of trough-shaped vanes securedto the said arms, delectors secured to said arms adapted to deilect the wind into said vanes, and suitable bearings and supports, substantially as described. y

3. In a wind-wheel, thecombination, with the supporting-frame, of a hollow vertical shaft mounted therein, a collar connected thereto having a bevel-gear thereon, a horizontal shaft, as d, journaled in the supportingframe, having a bevel-gear on one end thereof meshing with the gear on the verticalshaft, a

pulley on the opposite end of the horizontal shaft, a conical, bearing, in which the hollow vertical shaft is journaled, mounted on crossbeams in the lower supporting-frame, radial arms secured to and extending out from said shaft, and trough-shaped vanes mounted on one side of said radial arms and defiectors on the other side in proximity to said vanes, substantially as described.

4. In a windwheel, the combination, with the supporting-frame having a hollow shaft mounted therein, of a series of radial arms eX- tending out from and secured to said shaft, hollow or trough-shaped vanes secured to said arms, deilectors secured to the opposite sides of said arms, a governor having a weighted portion adapted to draw in said vanes, and

' rods extending through said hollow shaft, substantially as described.

5. In a windwheel, the combination, with the supporting-frame, of a hollow vertical shaft mounted therein, a series of collars secured to said shaft, a series of radial arms secured to said collars, a series of vanes hinged to said arms, a series of uprights mounted on said shaft and arms, centrifugal governors pivoted to said uprights, and a canopy or top mounted thereon and extending over the entire mechanism, substantially as described.

6. In a wind-wheel, the combination, withthe frame-work A, of the hollow shaft C, journaled in a bearing, c, arms e e', extending out from and attached to said shaft,troughshaped 

